HomeMy WebLinkAbout1000-110.-5-42 & 43 OFFICE LOCATION: MAILING ADDRESS:
Town Mall Annoy P.U. Box 1179
54375 State Route 2 '40
Solt
4 Southold, NY 11971
cor. 1'Ill,ain Rd. &Youngs Ave.)
Telephone: 631 765-1938
Southold, NY w ww.s outh of dt ownny.gov
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PLANNING BOARD OFFICE
TOWN OF SOUTHOLD
MEMORANDUM
To: Leslie Weisman, ZBA Chairperson
Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals
From Donald J. wilcenski, Chairman
Members of the Planning Board
Date: December 20, 2019
Re: Request for Comments for Posillico Lot Area Variance
CTM#1000-110.-5-42 &43 ZBA►##: 7352 & 7353
The Planning Board has reviewed your request for comments regarding the above-
referenced file. On the issue of the interpretation, this is outside the purview of the
Planning Beard and no comments are offered. On the issue of the lot area variances, if
the Zoning Board's finds that the lots are .still merged the Planning Board recommends
denying the substantial lot area variances.
This recommendation is due to the precedent this would set of granting large area
variances for small lots that could affect neighborhoods in many other areas in the
Town. Betting this precedent is not consistent with the Town's Comprehensive plan,
and has the potential for cumulative adverse impacts to traffic, water quality and water
quantity.
Based on the surveys submitted, the proposed lot areas and percentage of variances
requested are shown below:
SCTM#: 1000-11{0.-5-42
Proposed Lot Area = 23,054 sq. ft.
Required 40,000 sq. ft.
o Area Variance = 42%
Southold Town Planning Board Page 12 December 20, 2019
SCTM#: 1000-110.-5-43
Proposed Lot Area = 22,822 sq. ft.
Required — 40,000 sq. ft.
o Area Variance = 43%
As shown by the calculations above, both proposed parcels would require substantial
area variances. The R-40 Zoning District also requires a lot depth of 175'. Currently, lot
depth is shown at 125' on parcels 42 & 43, and would require a 28% area variance. As
proposed, the application does not meet the lot depth requirements or lot area
requirements of the bulk schedule on parcels 42 &43.
The Town's Comprehensive Plan, which currently consists of several plans including
the Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan as well as the Town Code, identifies the
Residential-40 Zoning District as having a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet. Many
parcels in the subject neighborhood are pre-existing, non-conforming with regard to the
lot dimensions and setbacks in the Town Code. Applying a zoning district with a larger
minimum lot size was intentional on the part of the legislative body of the Town, and has
been common practice to reduce the impacts that come from overly dense development
over time. This is the main goal of the merger law that requires that undersize parcels
merge when held in the same ownership.
Granting substantial area variances to unmerge lots using the rationale that the other
lots in the neighborhood are small would undermine the zoning in all the areas where
there are smaller lots. There are likely a larger number of merged lots in the Town. If the
precedent is set by granting this variance, the concern is that more applications will
come in to divide properties using substantial variances, resulting in an increase in the
future buildout.
And an increase in the Town's future buildout will have adverse effects on the Town
over time. The adverse effects would include an increase in traffic, and a strain on the
water supply, as well as increasing the pollution of our drinking water and bays and
creeks by adding more septic systems.
Thank you for this opportunity to provide comments, and please feel free to contact the
Planning office with any questions.